The concept of personalizing of customers is certainly not new. But the Web elevates it to a near art form. the Web is the perfect marketing environment for precision marketing because individuals can be uniquely identified, and a message can be tailored speicially to them.
Think about how traditional business personalize their communication through their salespeople and support team. Many, in fact, are far beyond what the typical ''personalized'' Web site delivers today. The reason is that traditional business focus on developing a real-life conversation with customers in the order to understand what the customer wants. Who has not dinied with a companion who requests so many changes to a menu item, that the order becomes essentially customized by the resturant?
Is this customization? Or is this personalization? Most of the time when you request something different from the standard offering --such as at a resturant--it is considered customization. When you have an interactive conversation with another person, it is personalization.
For marketers who want to engage each prospect in a conversation through thier Web site, full personalization is required in order to ask questions, listen to each person's answers , and observe their actions on the Web sit. This requires more than personalization technology, it requires an expert team of content creators who have worked with the different types of customers that a company serves and who know their information needs and product requirements.
Of course, the real question is not whether we use customization or personalization on a Web site but whether we meet the needs of our audience so they will feel comfortable with us, our company, and our products.
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